Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Film/Video

"[Mishima] is the one I'd stand by—as a screenwriter it's Taxi Driver, but as a director it’s Mishima."—Paul Schrader

As suggested by the title, Paul Schrader's Mishima is a portrait in four parts of famed author, playwright, filmmaker, actor, and fervent Japanese nationalist Yukio Mishima, who committed ritual suicide after a failed coup d’état in 1970. One of the key figures of Japan's second generation of postwar writers, Mishima was under constant scrutiny not only because of his talent and politics, but also due to questions about his sexual orientation. The film has never had an official theatrical release in Japan. Print courtesy of Paul Schrader. (120 mins., 35mm)